Your Borat Primer.

In discussion with a few friends over the weekend, I found out that some folks don't know who Borat is or what he's all about. So, I thought I would throw this little primer post together, to highlight his career.

First up, here's an article from AOLNews today, which mentions Borat's upcoming movie and gives you a taste of how Borat behaves in public.

'Borat' Star Honored in Germany
By Scott Roxborough
Reuters

COLOGNE, Germany (Oct. 17) - He might be persona non grata in Kazakhstan, but Borat -- the crazed Central Asian TV reporter created by British comic Sacha Baron Cohen -- is a hero to the German comedy scene.

Baron Cohen, in his Borat guise, won the best international comedian prize at the sixth annual German Comedy Awards on Friday in Cologne.

"Good evening gentlemen and prostitutes," Baron Cohen said to the crowd. "I love Germany. I love sex."

With his misogynistic and racist comments, Borat has been a source of controversy -- both in Kazakhstan and in the U.S.

"Most German comedy is fairly tame in comparison, and there was some worry that people would be offended," said Holger Hoffmann, executive producer of the awards show. "But we held out. For German comedians, Borat is a revelation. It actually transcends comedy to become social and political commentary."

Baron Cohen, whose theatrical feature "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" opens in Germany Nov. 2, certainly didn't clean up his act for the awards ceremony.

"I will put this prize next to the only other one I won," Baron Cohen said. "From Central Asian Olympic Committee. For hitting gypsy with rock at 50 meters."

Here's a pic of Borat, premiering his movie at Cannes, this past spring. Borat has some pretty big balls to be wearing that swimsuit out in public. Look, you can practically see them!



Here's the teaser trailer for the movie!


And here's the full trailer for the movie!


Here's IMDB's summary of the plot of his movie...

Kazakhstani TV personality Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the "greatest country in the world." With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson than on his assignment.

It's important to note that MOST of the people in this movie didn't know that Cohen was playing a character. In most cases, anyone appearing in the movie signed a waiver that was pretty loose in it's language and then were thrown in, head first with Borat and his camera crew. Hilarity ensued from there. So, the discomfort that people seem to feel during the movie is genuine discomfort.

And this has been the schtick that Borat has been rocking for some time now, on the Ali G show. (Cohen also plays Ali G and a gay german decorator, Bruno, on his show.)

Here's a little sample of some of his previous "Interview segments" as Borat.

Borat explores Dating in America!


Borat visits the Southern US.


Borat Explores the U.K. (24 min.)


Borat gets a US Country Western Bar to sing "Throw the Jew Down the Well" with him.


Borat kills me.
I love the whole "people being tricked by this character" aspect of the show. The recreation historian in the Southern clip is a prime example of someone losing their mind in frustration when they run up against Borat.

For me, the humor is never "Jeez, isn't this foreigner a dummy about American customs!" It's always, "How long is Cohen going to get away with this behavior before the victim figures out what's going on and loses their shit?!?" For me, the joke only works because I am in on it. And I am aware that Cohen doesn't actually talk or act like this. If this was real, it wouldn't be funny. Just clumsy and awkward.

Yes, Borat, the character is anti-Semitic. That doesn't bother me in the slightest. Mainly because I know that Cohen is, himself, Jewish. And the reason why he chose to make Borat anti-semidic is clearly evident in the singing of "Throw The Jew Down The Well". To expose the careless racism of others.

Anyways, the movie opens on November 3rd, in most markets. If you get a chance, do no more research than this and go check it out. I think you'll be glad you did!

Cheers,
Mr.B